Both she and her coach think the former Aloha High School thrower could be on the verge of something special.

Bain's personal record of 183-10, set last year, is in jeopardy. It could fall as early as Saturday afternoon in the Pac-12 Track & Field Championships at WSU's Mooberry Track & Field Complex.

"She is way ahead of where she was last year," said Stanford throws coach Michelle Eisenreich. "She is way more consistent. Her mark this year is not as far as last year, but she has been very consistent at the 180 point."

Which often means there is a monster throw just waiting for the right combination of conditions, adrenaline and technique.

If she gets tested this weekend, it probably will be by one of Oregon's three entries — Rachel Sherrell, Haley Crouser or Liz Brenner.

Sherrell, a senior from Hood River Valley, is ranked No. 2 in the conference, and she's such a breakthrough surprise she didn't rate a bio in the original version of the UO media guide.

Crouser, a freshman from Gresham, holds the national prep record of 181-2 and is third on the Pac-12 list this season at 164-5. Obviously, she has the tools to strike at any moment.

Brenner, Oregon's five-sport star, only has zeroed in on javelin training in the past few weeks. She was eighth at the NCAA championships in 2013.

But Bain is the clear favorite and a threat to win the NCAA title. She was second in the NCAA meet as a freshman and third last year at Hayward Field in Eugene after coming out of a rocky preliminary round in seventh place.

"I was expecting to throw better," Bain said of last year's NCAA championships. "My first three throws prior to the finals didn't feel that good. But my first throw in the finals I put it all together and hit the mid 170s."

The NCAA meet is at Hayward Field again this year — June 11-14 — and Bain is looking forward to it.

"I really love throwing there," she said. "I've had good meets and bad meets there, but there always is a really good atmosphere. Those people really love track. It's such a good energy to feed off of. And my family can go."

Her training has been geared around peaking then.

Not that winning an NCAA title will be easy. Nine Division I women have thrown 177-0 or farther. It could take 190 to win.

"I'm excited," Bain said. "The competition has elevated compared to the last two years."

She has put in a lot of work to remain at the forefront.

Eisenreich can see the difference.

"She really trained hard in the offseason," the Stanford coach said. "She improved her strength and speed tremendously. She's always been that type of thrower. For her to improve that much in those areas should have a correlating improvement on her throws this year."

As much as Bain looks forward to throwing at Hayward, she said she never seriously considered competing for the Ducks.

The lure of a Stanford education was too strong. She has not regretted her choice.

"It's been better than I could have imagined in every realm," Bain said. "The people I've met, the friendships I've made, the professors, the track team, the atmosphere — it's been so much more than I had imagined."

This weekend on the Palouse she will try to give back to Stanford a third consecutive conference javelin title.

Bain will be concentrating on form and distance, and let the competition take care of itself.

"I just want to improve," she said. "Whether it's a PR or throwing consistently better than that what I did in prior years. Last year I was consistent in the mid-to-high 170s. The year before, it was the 160s.

"This year, with the championship season approaching, I would like to stay in the 180 range."